Adrian Dater of the Denver Post:
"A knowledgeable Swedish source told me that during the Western playoff series between the Avs and Red Wings, the Avs flew in Peter Forsberg’s doctor who performed his last surgery and really grilled him hard on his troublesome right ankle’s condition, and that even after the series, there was a lot of discussion between him and the team about his future playing prospects."
"There’s no word on what Foppa is thinking right now, but the betting line continues to be that he’ll retire. But I wouldn’t say it’s a huge betting line. Probably 65-35."
Here is the full article from All Things Avs.
This does not come as much of a surprise. Granted, I am one of Forsberg's biggest fans and when he did play last season, even limping a bit, he was still arguably a top 20 NHL player. If he can get his ankle in better shape come next fall, I would not be shocked to see him return. That being said, if his ankle was so bad during the playoffs, where we all know he would have done anything to play, the odds of 65-35 are probably fitting.
Philadelphia Daily News: "The combination of Games 1 and 2 made this the highest-rated and most-watched opening two games of the finals since Detroit faced Carolina in 2002. Versus' combined ratings went up 273 percent from last year when Anaheim played Ottawa and 181 percent from the Carolina-Edmonton matchup in 2006."
Here is the entire article courtesy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
This is great news for the NHL and the ratings can only be rising after last night's tremendous and exciting Game 3. Moreover, last night's game was on NBC which has a wider national audience than Versus. I would expect the highest television rating for a Stanley Cup Finals game this decade if the series goes six games.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: "Perhaps the most dishonorable episode in recent Rangers' history was settled yesterday when arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled that the New York Rangers must indeed pay Bobby Holik and Jed Ortmeyer their respective signing bonuses the team withheld during and after the 2004-05 NHL lockout."
Here the entire article courtesy of the NY Post.
The article notes that the Rangers were the only team during the lockout to not pay up signing bonuses. I really don't understand why the Rangers went to all this trouble to withhold the bonus money from these two players. Never mind the fact that they spent time and money on legal proceedings. It appears the Rangers would have been far better off just paying these bonuses a long time ago and moving on.
Dave Christensen of the Miami Herald: "If a hurricane destroys the BankAtlantic Center, home of hockey's Florida Panthers, Broward taxpayers will be on the hook for any damage over $150 million because the arena is underinsured."
Here is the full article courtesy of the Miami Herald.
Just one thought: Why should the public be on the hook for damage to an arena they never attend?
Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which resume at 8pm EST on Saturday night...
Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):
For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.
Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com
3rd PERIOD
16:21 to go in the Third Period- A flurry of Penguins shots including Marian Hossa hitting the post.
14:30 remaining - Detroit is controlling the play and putting all of the pressure on Pittsburgh.
13:00 remaining- 2 huge hits in a row by Pittsburgh on Detroit players Andreas Lilja and Kirk Maltby.
12:52 to go in the Third Period- Adam Hall SCORES. A huge scramble around the net sees Hall bang the puck past Osgood giving Pittsburgh a stranglehood on this game with just over ten minutes to play. The goal is Halls' 2nd of the postseason.
11:43 to go in the Third Period- An UNBELIEVABLE save by Fleury. Grand Theft Auto perpetrated by Fleury on Holmstrom.
10:45 remaining- The game has opened up for the first time all series. End to end action and bodies are flying everywhere with Pittsburgh hitting everything and everyone remotely associated with the State of Michigan.
8:58 left in the Third Period- As Bob Cole just said, can you believe this pace folks? And frankly I can't. This is what the NHL has been hoping and praying for since Pittsburgh and Detroit punched their tickets for the Cup Finals.
6:23 Left in the Third Period- Mikael Samuelsson scores on a harmless looking shot that changes direction when Pens defenseman Brooks Orpik gets a stick on the shot (A Don Cherry no-no) thus confusing Goalie Marc Andre Fleury, who was back deep in his net. The goal is Samuelsson's 5th of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Writer's Note: The Wings Filppula and Samuelsson did a great job of cycling the puck on that sequence but Fleury should have had this one. He appeared to be too far back in his net and the fact that Orpik tipped that at the last minute didn't help at all.
4:18 Left in the Third Period- Evgeni Malkin takes a hooking penalty.
Writer's Note: The Illegal Curve team continues to seach for answers regarding Evgeni Malkin's religious affiliation. The hot rumour on the World Wide Web is that Malkin wears a necklace with a Magen David (Star of David). Illegal Curve Religion Correspondent Neil Rockman, a proud Jew, continues to pursue the story.
1:45 left in the Third Period- Detroit is all over Pittsburgh in their own end. The Wings have really exploded after Samuelsson's goal.
After a final flurry in the last minute, which mainly saw Detroit keeping the puck in the Pens zone without many quality scoring chances, the Pens hurriedly clear the puck down the ice and the game ends.
The PartyPoker.net Three Stars of the Game:
*Sidney Crosby
**Marc-Andre Fleury
***Niklas Kronvall
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.
Writer's Post-Game Analysis: Game 3 was by far the most exciting and well-played game of the series. This game had fans all across North America on the edge of their seats because of it's intensity and grit. This game was exactly what the National Hockey League and it's fans needed. More than three goals and ultra-competitive. Perfect. That's what the Stanley Cup Finals is all about. Pittsburgh has now made the '08 Finals a series and can really build on that second period. However, Detroit outshot Pittsburgh 34-24 and was especially sharp in the last half of the Third Period.
The Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom line was clearly the best one on the ice and played extremely well despite the loss. Game 4 goes Saturday Night in Pittsburgh...
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.
PERIOD 2
With Defenseman Brian Rafalski still in the sin bin, Pittsburgh starts the second period with a man advantage.
0:20 into the Second Period- Sidney Crosby explodes off the half boards, and wrists a hard shot off the crossbar.
2:02 of the Second Period- Kronvall receievs a hooking penalty when he ties up Ryan Malone behind the net.
2:10 of the Second Period- Petr Sykora has a quality shot on net but there is no rebound available to any Penguins when Osgood plays the puck efficiently and the puck is cleared down the ice.
2:34 into the Second Period- Sidney Crosby buries his second goal of the game (6th of the playoffs) on a rebound shot from Marian Hossa. That goal was the result of speed and driving hard to the net. The Penguins exploded in triangular form and buried the rebound, off an excellent first shot.
Writer's Note: Who do I think I am? Pierre McGuire (of TSN and NBC)?
4:10 into the Second Period - Crosby is hammered so hard he does a back flip when Wings forward Kris Draper lays a low hip at the blueline.
7:00 in the Second Period- For the first time in the series, Pittsburgh has absolute control of this game. FINALLY.
8:54 into the Second Period- Hal Gill takes a cross-checking penalty.
11:40 into the Second Period- CBC's Scott Oake interviews Alexander Ovechkin.
Writer's Note: Has Alexander Ovechkin been shopping with Sean Avery, intern for Vogue Magazine? I must say, Ovechkin is looking sharp and fresh tonight. Whether that suit is Armani or Zegna, Ovie is styling tonight.
12:57 of the Second Period- Hal Gill takes a cross-checking penalty on Tomas Holmstrom.
Writer's Note: This penalty kill should be no problem for Pittsburgh. They have done an excellent job down a man thus far tonight. Jordan Staal (7 shorthanded goals in 2006'07 regular season) is always effective.
14:48 of the Second Period- Johan Franzen (Landsbro, Sweden) scores his 13th goal of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a beautiful individual effort. The goal comes with only seconds left in Gill's minor penalty and was quite simply a highlight-reel goal.
Writer's Note: Was that Johan Franzen or Alexei Zhamnov? Wow. That goal was exciting to watch. And I'm cheering for Pittsburgh too. Franzen went around three Pittsburgh Penguins on his way to the goal and stuffed it short-side on M.A. Fleury. The Mule has another goal, his league-leading 13th of the postseason.
*** Second Period Ends.... Pittsburgh outshoots Detroit 13-9 in the Second Period and has an overall 19-18 Shots advantage.
Writer's Analysis: This game is by far the best of the series so far, mainly because Pittsburgh seems to have awaken from a late May sleep. Pittsburgh played extraordinarily in the middle frame and really deserved a bigger lead than one goal...
Stay Tuned for Period 3.....
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg...
PERIOD 1
- Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman drops the puck at Center Ice and the start of Game 3 is minutes away.
0:15 into the First Period- Detroit's Top 5 (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Rafalski) starts the game with more jump than Tyler Kennedy's line.
1:04 into the First Peiod- An obstruction holding penalty is called on Johan Franzen, as his back check on Pens forward Marian Hossa is a tad over-zealous.
1:39 into the First Period- 35 seconds into the power play, Ryan Malone has a great chance to score when he moves in on Osgood and finesses a half-decent forehand shot that is thwarted into the corner. Malone has another great chance to score when he one-times a shot in the slot.
3:05 into the First Period- Jordan Staal takes a holding penalty that looks like something you would see in an instructional video for NHL officials. He puts his arm around the Detroit player and clearly impeded his progress in the neutral zone. Not a very good penalty to take.
Writer's Note: Pittsburgh had some excellent scoring chances on their first power play and appeared to be on the verge of more pressure. Pittsburgh really needed a good start to this game and they must kill this penalty off quickly so they can sustain more pressure in their home rink.
6:59 into the First Period- After killing off Staal's penalty, Detroit continues to control the pace of the game by using their speed and smarts.
Niklas Lidstrom turns the puck over in the Detroit zone to Sidney Crosby but the Penguins fail to get a clear shot on net when they get too fancy.
Wings Super-Grinder Tomas Holmstrom wires a hard slap shot on Marc-Andre Fleury which he stops handily.
Writer's Note: The Penguins defensemen need to do a better shop of standing the Wings up at the blueline, because their modus operandi is clearly to get as many rebounds as possible. If the Pens continue to let Detroit's speedy forwards walk in over the blueline, someone will eventually get a juicy rebound. You cannot give players like Datsyuk, Holmstrom and Franzen the autonomy to walk in and fire 30-foot slappers. This is where Darryl Sydor and his Stanley Cup experience come into play.
CBC shows Lays spokesman Mark Messier and NHL Scoring Champion Alexander Ovechkin
9:15 into the Period -Press box. Messier and Ovechkin appear to be more interested in who's texting their Blackberry than Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
11:00 into the First Period- The Red Wings are shooting from all over the ice at Marc-Andre Fleury as they continue to frustrate the scrambly hometown Penguins.
12:07 into the First Period- Sergei Gonchar takes a tripping penalty.
Writer's Note: The Penguins have one shot on net. I repeat. The Penguins have ONE SHOT on net. Is Pittsburgh for real? Are they purposely trying to play like the 1980'81 Winnipeg Jets?
16:10 into the First Period- Marian Hoosa registers Pittsburgh's second shot on net, after he tips a Sergei Gonchar point shot.
17:25 into the First Period- Pittsburgh breaks the scoreless draw when Brad Stuart coughs the puck up to Sidney Crosby after his clearing pass hits the back of Henrik Zetterbeg's skate. Crosby takes the puck, drops it to Hossa, then takes the return feed off of a Detroit skate and buries his 5th goal past Chris Osgood. A nice goal, which always looks better when it comes off the stick of Sid the Kid.
Writer's Note: Crosby's goal was a true double-whammy as he pops his personal Stanley Cup Finals cherry and the team's as well. It is nice to see the Crosby show back on air. It is about time.
19:19 of the First Period- Former New Jersey Devils Defenseman Brian Rafalski takes a minor tripping penalty.
19:53 of the First Period- Marian Hossa misses the net on a one-timer and the Penguins end the period with pressure and on a high note.
Writer's Note: Wow. Hossa had a great opportunity to put the Pens up by 2 on a beautiful feed from Malone. Hossa still hasn't found his comfort zone. Don't look now but Hossa and Crosby are really clicking together.
First Period Notes: The Wings outshoot the Penguins 9-6 in the period.....
Please stay tuned for Period 2......
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.
Game Notes...... The Penguins are 8-0 at the Mellon Arena during the 2008 Playoffs.....Red Wings Sniper Pavel Datsyuk has 46 hits in these 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, more than any other player in the league. Datsyuk has shown a lot of grit this postseason, including Game 2 when he went after Ryan Malone after a perceived late hit on Henrik Zetterberg.... CBC's Elliotte Friedman reported earlier today that Penguins Head Coach Michel Therrien will dress two-time Stanley Cup Winner Darryl Sydor tonight, even though he hasn't played in a game in over two months. Therrien is clearly hoping that Sydor will help playoff neophytes Ryan Whitney and Brooks Orpik in their own zone. Rookie Kris Letang will be scratched in favour of Sydor.... Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is 12-2 in the 2008 Playoffs with a Goals Against Average of 1.38, a Save Percentage of 0.939 and three shutouts. He may not face as many shots as other goalies but these numbers must be recognized by those deciding who is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.....The Penguins played much chippier in Game 2 than the first game of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. Pittsburgh took a mind-boggling 16 penalties Monday night, including eight roughing minors, whereas the more-disciplined Red Wings were only guilty of eight total infractions....
IllegalCurve.com continues it's comprehensive coverage of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals tonight with a Live period-by-period blog of Game 3 between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After losing the first two games of the series in Detroit, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to get back on the winning track tonight (8:00 p.m. E.T.) when they welcome the Wings to the not-so-friendly confines of the noisy Mellon Arena. The Penguins have not scored a goal so far in this series are looking to silence the scribes who have already began to prematurely declare these Finals over.
Stay tuned to Illegal Curve tonight and for the rest of the '08 Stanley Cup Finals for the best hockey coverage on the Internet.
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.
With a somewhat busy schedule, I was unable to see as many junior/midget as I would have liked this year. That being said, I was still fortunate enough to see a number of draft eligible prospects in the winter and spring. I will post brief reports on the players I saw over the next few days.
John Carlson - D (Indiana Ice, USHL) - Carlson, rated 17th for North American skaters by Central Scouting, is a big defender (6'2, 215) who possesses a heavy shot. Some scouts have knocked his skating ability, but he doesn't appear to have any serious defects in that area. He gets where he needs to go and positions himself well. I see him as a more offensive type, as he put up good numbers (12-31-43) in Indiana and was able to effectively move the puck on the power play.
Nick Larson - LW - (Waterloo Blackhawks, USHL) - I only saw Larson play a couple times, but was impressed both times. Most recently, he was scoring the overtime winner in Game 1 of the Clark Cup finals versus Omaha. He put up respectable numbers during the regular season (19-19-36) and will likely continue to improve as he has good offensive skills. What I liked most about him was that he won't quit. He works hard every shift and is tenacious on the puck. He is willing to fight for room on the ice and has a quick release shot that he can use from anywhere. Its my feeling that this will make him a dangerous scorer going forward.
From Mark Zwolinkski: "The long-standing belief is that Burke is the Leafs' target for president and GM, but they will go through proper channels to land him, even if it takes a year, or a month. Until then, Fletcher remains in control, and will guide the club through the draft, trades, buyouts, free agency and the hiring of a new coach if need be."
Here is the full article courtesy of the Toronto Star.
Apparently the Leafs are looking to form a super management team that could have many different people working together as the Leafs' GM/President. Their main focus appears to be Burke, but the organization has interviewed Dave Nonis and also have reported interest in Doug Armstrong. In my opinion, the Leafs should leave the staff hiring to the new GM, instead of naming his support staff beforehand.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: "Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson yesterday refuted weekend reports out of Canada that contract negotiations were not going very well with restricted free agent goaltender Pascal Leclaire."
Here is the full article courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch.
I really don't see these two sides not coming to some sort of agreement. Leclaire was terrific last season and really flourished under coach Hitchcock's defense-first system. Scott Howson is a sharp GM and I'm sure the sides will end up agreeing on a three or four year contract.
Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which continue tonight at 8pm EST:
Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):
For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.
Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com
